From the desk/kitchen table of the Editorial Director...
2024 Book Prize Winner announcement, et al.,
Hello, Unleash community! With winter soon on its way out (for some), I thought I would share some news and information in anticipation of spring. First and foremost, we are proud to announce the WINNER of our 2024 Book Prize (drum roll, please…):
An Artist’s Legacy, by Khanh Ha.
A few words from our judge, the notable J. Eric Smith:
“Khanh Ha's An Artist's Legacy is an exceptional work of historical fiction anchored in the complex cultural conflicts of the First Indochina War and its climactic confrontation at Dien Bien Phu. The novel introduces a rich cohort of well-crafted characters, carries them into, through and beyond the conflict that irreparably altered their homelands and lives, deftly weaving their aggregated journeys into a beautiful and haunting creative tapestry. Khanh Ha is a deeply skilled literary craftsman, with a pointillist's attention to the details of his story, be they military, or cultural, or interpersonal, or emotional, assembling his elements into an impressionistic masterpiece that captures the essences of the various cultures clashing in this great and catastrophic tumult. Many modern readers' knowledge and understanding of the long series of 20th Century clashes in Southeast Asia are viewed through the foggy lenses of American colonial and Cold War exploits in the region, and Khanh Ha provides essential, educational, and deeply engaging fresh perspectives into the rich stories before, within, and around the tales most often told of those times.”
A huge congratulations to Khanh Ha – we cannot wait to share your words with the world.
In other news, we are in the finishing stages of our 2024 anthology, On Rules. Exploring rules in all their forms, this book has the capacity to make some serious waves and that is thanks to your brilliant contributions. Once the ink has dried on the presses, we will send out more information.
After a short hiatus, Unleash Lit is open for submissions! We accept creativity in all its forms, including poetry (up to 5 poems), fiction and creative nonfiction (up to 2,000 words), photos (up to 5 jpeg. Images), and art (up to 5 jpeg. Images). We are SO excited to see what you submit.
We have also added a craft article section and will be featuring articles curated from our Board of Directors monthly; please feel free to reach out if you have any areas of interest you would like us to focus on.
Our fearless leader, Jen Knox has recently returned from an amazing trip to the San Miguel Writers’ Conference & Literary Festival in Mexico. As the winner of their 2023 writing contest for creative nonfiction, Jen was invited to share her brilliance and soak up some well-deserved adventure. You can read her winning entry here.
We are already receiving entries for our new Work In Progress Award and we are looking forward to more great reading. This contest is designed to support writers who are just starting or who have been toiling away but need a little boost to keep going by offering support for $500 to supplement costs to aid in completing a book-length work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Writers will also receive editorial feedback, coaching meetings, and an excerpt/interview feature in Unleash Lit.
Finally, our partnership with the Armed Services Arts Partnership wrapped up last night. The theme for this anthology is partnerships and we couldn’t have asked for a better partner. Stay tuned for more details here!
As a holistic arts organization, our focus is YOU and your writing. We are so excited that you are here and trust us with your work.
Walk gently,
Ashley Holloway